This research found all of the social determinants of health shown in the top map to be significant predictors of the health outcomes shown in the bottom map.
Focusing on access to care, we created a utility function based on a county’s population of females of reproductive age and distance to the nearest reproductive health clinic, identifying the top 20 counties where clinics should be added according to our model.
For these twenty counties, we calculated the expected change in health outcomes if clinics were built there or if state-policies that restrict abortion were loosened.
Although there are certainly other underlying social factors that influence these health outcomes, this research provides strong evidence that better access to reproductive health clinics and less restrictive abortion policies are associated with better maternal, child, and sexual health outcomes.
SOCIAL DETERMINANTS